Tommy Hanson, 54, of Fairbanks, was sentenced on Friday, Feb 2, 2018, to serve 20 years in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for the receipt of child pornography. In November 2017, a federal jury found Hanson guilty after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistli... More...

$0 (02-10-2018 - AK)

Alejandro Menocal, et al. v. National Advocacy Center of The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, et al.
District of Colorado Federal Courthouse - Denver, Colorado

This appeal arises from prison officials’ attempt to gain control over an
agitated prisoner who refused to obey their orders, locked himself in the prison’s
outdoor recreation yard, and threatened prison officials. To subdue the prisoner,
prison officials decided to drop CS gas, a commonly used tear gas, into the
recreation yard.
The plan went awry. The recreation yard containe... More...

This case presents the novel question whether claims
under state wage and hour laws may be brought by workers
employed on drilling platforms fixed on the outer Continental
Shelf. Brian Newton worked on such a platform off the coast
of Santa Barbara. His shifts lasted fourteen days and he
regularly worked twelve hours per day. After Parker Drilling
(“Parker”) terminated him,... More...

Trump University, now defunct, was a for-profit entity that purported to teach Donald J. Trump’s “secrets of success” in the real estate industry. During the 2016 presidential election, Trump University and Trump were defendants in three lawsuits alleging fraud and violations of various state and federal laws: two class actions in the Southern District of California, and a suit by the New York Att... More...

For more than half a century, the Union Pacific Railroad
(“Union Pacific”) has leased land under 1,800 miles of its
right of way to Santa Fe Pacific Pipelines, L.P. (“SFPP”),
which uses the land for a petroleum pipeline. In a suit by
landowners challenging Union Pacific’s ability to lease the
land, the district court held that (1) the acts of Congress
conferring the right o... More...

$0 (02-09-2018 - CA)

Juan D. Vega, Jr. v. United States of America, et al.
Western District of Washington Federal Courthouse - Seattle, Washington

Juan Vega, Jr. was transferred from federal prison to a Seattle non-profit residential reentry center to complete the remainder of his prison sentence. There, he alleged that federal and private employees conspired to remove him from the halfway house known as Pioneer House, ostensibly based on his race and for asserting his First Amendment rights, by filing a false incident report. After his retu... More...

$0 (02-09-2018 - WA)

San Francisco Apartment Association v. City and County of San Francisco

We must determine whether a San Francisco city
ordinance limiting the rights of landlords to commence and
conduct buyout negotiations is consistent with the federal
and state constitutions. We do not, as we must not, evaluate
the policy merits of the ordinance. Appellants—an
individual property owner and several organizations that
represent landlords’ interests in San Franc... More...

There is a “strong presumption that courts should
determine the jurisdiction of arbitrators.” (Sandquist v. Lebo
Automotive, Inc. (2016) 1 Cal.5th 233, 249 (Sandquist).) Parties
may nevertheless agree to let an arbitrator decide his or her own
jurisdiction, at least if their agreement to do so is “‘clear[] and
unmistakabl[e].’” (Howsam v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. (2002)
5... More...

$0 (02-08-2018 - CA)

Annie Rayman v. Abbott Amubulance, Inc.
St. Louis City Courthouse - City of St. Louis, Missoui

Annie Rayman (“Rayman”) appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in
favor of Abbott Ambulance, Inc. (“Abbott”) on her negligence claim. Rayman sued Abbott for
damages that resulted from an automobile collision between Rayman and a third party. The trial
court granted Abbott’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Abbott did not owe Rayman a
duty of care and that... More...

Gregory Alan Heidbrink (Appellant) appeals from the trial court’s judgment
entered after a jury trial convicting him of receiving stolen property. We affirm in part,
reverse in part, and remand for resentencing.
Factual and Procedural Background
The State charged Appellant, as a prior and persistent offender, with one count of
receiving stolen property, a class C Felony, in vio... More...

Defendant Jeffrey L. Bruner appeals his convictions on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, alleging the circuit court erred by refusing to submit a self-defense instruction. This Court recently reaffirmed in State v. Smith, 456 S.W.3d 849, 852 (Mo. banc 2015), that if substantial evidence is presented of the elements of self-defense, then the issue is injected and self-defens... More...

Vicki Gilmore appeals her conviction of the class C felony of possession of a
controlled substance, arguing insufficient evidence supports her conviction. Following a
jury trial, Gilmore was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison. The circuit
court suspended the execution of the sentence and placed her on probation for five years.
Because there was insufficient evidenc... More...

After Donald Morgan ran against his boss Michael Robinson, the incumbent
sheriff, in a primary election, Robinson terminated Morgan’s employment as a deputy
with the Washington County, Nebraska Sheriff’s Office for statements Morgan made
during the campaign. Morgan then brought this First Amendment retaliation action
under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and Robinson moved for summary judgment o... More...

$0 (02-08-2018 - )

United States of America v. Mark Arlin Hammerschmidt
District of Minnesota Federal Courthouse - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mark Arlin Hammerschmidt (Mark) pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy
to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286 and was sentenced to 135
months’ imprisonment. Ornella Angelina Hammerschmidt (Ornella) pleaded guilty
to one count of making false claims for refunds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287 and
was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. The Hammerschmidts ... More...

$0 (02-08-2018 - MN)

United States v. James Joseph Thompson
Morelaw Internet Marketing for Legal Professionals
918-582-6422

Following an August 2016 jury trial, James Thompson was convicted of
possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C.
1The Honorable Richard W. Goldberg, Judge for the United States Court of
International Trade, sitting by designation.
§ 841(a)(1). Thompson appeals his conviction. For the reasons set forth below, we
affirm.
I. Background... More...

$0 (02-08-2018 - SD)

United States of America v. Randy Metcalf
Northern District of Iowa Federal Courthouse - Dubuque, Iowa

A jury convicted Randy Joe Metcalf of committing a hate crime in violation of
the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, 18
U.S.C. § 249(a)(1) (the Act). The district cou 1 rt2 sentenced Metcalf to the statutory
maximum sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment. Metcalf appeals, arguing that the
Act is unconstitutional because Congress lacked the author... More...

Lisa Wilcox appeals the judgment of the district court2 granting the United States’ motion to substitute parties and motion to dismiss, and Lake Regional Health Systems’ (Lake Regional) motion for summary judgment. We affirm.
I.
On June 28, 2013, Wilcox filed a petition in the Circuit Court of Camden County, Missouri alleging negligence against Dr. Robert Nielsen and Dr. Russell Johnson af... More...

Larry Burks was convicted of rape in Arkansas and sentenced to thirty years in
prison. When Burks, more than five years later, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus
under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, there was a dispute about whether the petition was timely.
The district court determined that the one-year statute of limitations should be
equitably tolled and deemed Burks’s petition timely. T... More...

$0 (02-08-2018 - AR)

United States of America v. George Pate, Cookie G. Pate
Western District of Missouri Federal Courthouse - Kansas City, Missouri

George and Cookie Pate appeal the district court’s2 enforcement of summonses
issued by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in April 2015. The summonses
directed the Pates to provide testimony regarding alleged tax deficiencies. The Pates
appeared before IRS Officer Mark Boston and invoked the Fifth Amendment
privilege in response to every question, including questions about their ... More...

During the early hours of
August 24, 2014, an unidentified group of individuals assaulted
Appellant Henry Mu ("Mu") in the lobby of the Omni Providence Hotel
(the "Hotel"), which Appellee Omni Hotels Management Corporation
("Omni") operates. Mu sued Omni for negligence. The district
court granted summary judgment to Omni, finding Mu's claims
deficient with respect to three ... More...

Today's Fresh Start Charter School v. Inglewood Unified School District

Under the Education Code, in order to add a new charter
location, an established charter school must obtain approval in
the form of a material revision from the authority that granted
its charter. (Ed. Code, § 47605, subd. (a)(4).)1 Today’s Fresh
Start Charter School (Today’s Fresh Start), the appellant in this
appeal, sought both this approval and renewal of its charter in... More...